abash. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

abash

SYLLABICATION:	a·bash
PRONUNCIATION:	-bsh
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: a·bashed, a·bash·ing, a·bash·es To make ashamed or uneasy; disconcert. See synonyms at embarrass.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English abaishen, to lose one's composure, from Old French esbahir, esbahiss- : es-, intensive pref. (from Latin ex-; see ex–) + baer, to gape; see bay².
OTHER FORMS:	a·bashment —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.